A proposal to measure the resilience of the Andalusian Commnunity Social Services

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the weaknesses of social services directed towards the most vulnerable populations. A robust social services framework is, thus, necessary to mitigate the impact of the crisis. In this work, a resilience index is advanced based on the capacities of social services to buffer and alleviate the adverse effects of crises, including the recent pandemic. Thus, the study’s objective was to create a resilience index based on accessible data to assess the extent to which Andalusia’s social services were capable of mitigating the effects of the pandemic. Methodology. A novel methodology, the HVCRA (Hazard, Vulnerability, Risk, and Capacity Analysis), is introduced in this paper. Though traditionally used to assess natural disasters, HVCRA was applied here to gauge the pandemic's impact on social services. To develop the index, expert validation was conducted through the Delphi method, stakeholder evaluation, and the calculation of pre- and post-pandemic resilience indices for municipalities in Andalusia (an autonomous region in southern Spain). Results. The study unfolded in three phases: identification of resilience indicators, data selection, and index calculation. High modal values were obtained with the Delphi method, and significant variables were identified in stakeholder focus groups. The applicability of the final index, reduced to 17 indicators, could be improved through ongoing contextualisation efforts. Discussion. Critical indicators to assess social service resilience were put forward, in line with the research conducted by Kruk et al. who propose a resilience index for healthcare. Structural indicators, such as budget allocation and personnel, play pivotal roles, though data availability challenges persist, particularly in municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants. Despite the study’s limitations, the proposed indicators are promising in terms of offering a comprehensive resilience assessment method directed towards community social service systems. Conclusions. The study establishes a robust framework for evaluating community social service resilience, although data accessibility remains a challenge. While acknowledging the study’s limitations, the proposed indicators lay the groundwork for attaining a comprehensive evaluation in the future, underscoring the imperative of addressing data availability in order to achieve a more nuanced assessment of social service resilience.